


I57Blank

by Nerdrocker42



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 08:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3168692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdrocker42/pseuds/Nerdrocker42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Liam finds a book on a park bench, and other things happen, but nothing much happens at all. Featuring Liam, Victoria, Lewis, Christina, Jane, Mary, Rick, Sven, Eric, and Matilda. A story in five parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

What’s this?

Sitting next to Liam on the bench was a book. He hadn’t noticed it when he sat down. This is the bench he sits at for a few minutes on his lunch break. He’d eat his lunch at his desk, and then go for a quick ride through Hardwick Park, and sit down at this bench to read a Cracked article before going back to his job as a mid-level writer and editor for the website of PLACE Magazine. He also wrote for Parkvale’s local newspaper, but the gig at PLACE was a much bigger deal. 

He recently submitted an article pitch to Cracked, which getting an article into Cracked had been one of his writing goals for quite a while. The pitch was rejected, though. He couldn’t find enough evidence for his “Reasons Batman and Dracula are the Same Person,” in the canon lore. He’d have to go into the more obscure literature and films, and he didn’t really want to do that. And also he discovered that, while being quite good at putting jokes into his articles, he was not good at writing an entire comedy article. He was mildly disappointed. 

Liam picked up the book.  157Blank by Lyanna Morrison. It was a fairly new paperback, slightly creased on the binding, but otherwise in good shape. Liam flipped open the cover and leafed through the first few pages. On the dedication page which read simply “ to you ,” was a message tidily written in black ink: 

 

Hello.

You look like you could use a good read. I want you to take this book home and read it. I hope you like it. And after you finish, I’d like you to leave this book on a park bench like the one you found it on. But first, sign your name below and leave a way to contact you. Have a lovely time.

Thanks

Alfred Gaiman

 

Hm. 

Oh shit!

There were five minutes left in his break and Liam had a six minute ride back to work and a two minute walk back to his desk. He slipped the book into his messenger bag, straddled his bicycle, and rode back to his building.

Work today was a regular day of work like any day. Liam really liked the article on which he was working this week. He was writing a piece that would actually end up in the print edition, and that doesn’t happen too often. It was about the new television shows premiering the next month; a subject incredibly close to his heart

Work ended and Liam got ready to leave the office. He ran into the cute writer from a couple cubicles over. Liam said “Hello” to Victoria and then Victoria said “Hey, what’s up?” to Liam and then Liam said “Fine, how are you?” to Victoria and then Liam thought  Schmerz, that’s not right to himself and then Victoria laughed.

“I’m also fine,” she said. “Hey, Liam, there’s this show in Hardwick Park Saturday night, and I was wondering if you wanted to come along.” William Munroe had picked up the name Liam in middle school when his Principal Haroldson clipped off the first syllable of his name, and it had clung to him since.

“Oh, yeah, I think I heard about that. Local folk punk band, right? Like a Violent Femmes, Flogging Molly style?”

“Yeah, they’re called Common Knowledge. I bought their album a couple weeks ago. The CD’s in my computer, if you want to give it a listen before the show. Hold on.”

“Sure, yeah.” Victoria went back to her cubicle and grabbed a disc from the CD tray of the laptop on her desk and put it into case and brought it back out to the place in the hall where they had been standing. Meanwhile, Liam was standing in the same spot rummaging through his bag, pretending to be busy. He found the book again in his bag. He’d totally forgotten about it. Victoria was back and holding a hand outstretched offering the gift of music. Liam accepted and expressed his gratitude. 

“So you think you wanna come? The others are coming, too. Sven, Eric, and Christina. And make sure you invite Lewis if Sven and Christina haven’t already.” Eric worked with Liam and Victoria, and Lewis, Christina, and Sven worked together at the internet design firm downtown called Parker & Maguire’s Web Design. 

“Yeah, that sounds great.” He paused and thought of the book. “Hey, Victoria?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Have you ever heard of an Alfred Gaiman?”

“Yeah. He’s a character in a book. I’m reading it right now, actually. It’s called  Breaking Through Infinity . It’s by uh, Gibson McNeil, I think. It won some awards, and I thought I’d give it a try.”

Liam was intrigued and mildly perplexed by this. “Oh, uh, alright. What about a Lyanna Morrison?”

“No, I’m not familiar. Why?”

“No, no reason, I was just wondering. So I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you.”

“Have a good day.”

“Thanks, you too.”

Liam left the office on his bicycle and rode home.

  
  


Liam arrived home at his apartment at a little before six. His roommate Lewis had beaten him home with dinner. They’d been best friends since middle school and were roommates all the way through college. The web design firm where Lewis worked shared a wall with a Chinese restaurant. The sign in the restaurant’s window boasted that they served the best Chinese in Parkvale, and that was certainly so. Anyone who had eaten at the Chinese Gourmet would attest that it was the best Chinese food they had ever had.

Liam and Lewis sat down in the living room in their respective spots on the couch and in the recliner. Liam had chicken and broccoli and Lewis had sesame chicken, and both their meals came with fried rice. “Did you talk to Victoria today?” They were watching live television and Lewis was incapable of watching commercials.

“Yeah, actually, thanks for reminding me. We’re all going to a Wheaton’s Café concert on Saturday night. They’re called Common Knowledge. Victoria gave me a copy of one of their albums.”

“Sweet.”

The show came back and the room fell into a hush until the next break. Liam hadn’t had a chance to search for  157Blank , or Lyanna Morrison, or Alfred Gaiman. They hadn’t really left his thoughts since he found the book in his bag again leaving work. “Hey, Lewis, Have you ever heard of Lyanna Morrison?”

“No. Why?”

“I found this book in the park earlier.” Liam got up to grab it from his messenger bag which was hanging on a chair in the kitchen. After fumbling around for the book in his bag, he returned and handed the book to Lewis. “It was on my bench when I sat down on my lunch break.”

Lewis looked over the front and back cover. On the front of the book appeared the silhouette of a single person looking up at the night sky. The stars in the sky wrote the numbers 1, 5, and 7. Beneath the silhouette was the word  Blank . And beneath that, Lyanna Morrison was printed in austere helvetica. The spine said  157Blank  and  Morrison  in the same typeface from the front. The back cover was unadorned. Blank. “ 157Blank . . . Nope. Never heard of it.” Lewis offered it back to Liam.

“Look inside, Lewis.”

Lewis opened the front cover where there was a picture of someone that must have been Lyanna Morrison. “Hey, she’s kind of cute.” He flipped through the first few pages. Lewis smirked. “Who’s Alfred Gaiman?”

“That’s where it gets weird. I asked Victoria the same thing, and she said he was a character in a book she was reading.” 

“So a character from a book gave you a copy of a book nobody’s ever heard of by a writer nobody’s ever heard of.”

“ Of whom. Don’t end a sentence with a preposition, Lewis.”

“ Fuck you. ”

“But yeah. That’s the idea, I guess.” They sat quietly for a while.

After a while, they stopped sitting quietly. “Hey, Liam, do you think it might have been Victoria that put the book on the bench? That would explain the Alfred Gaiman thing, right?” 

They sat quietly for a short time longer until Lewis threw a bamboo chopstick at Liam. Liam jumped, startled. “Oh! Uh, no, I don’t think so. The book’s up for some awards, or something, it’s kind of popular I guess.  Breaking Through Infinity , not this one. That’s the one with Alfred Gaiman, Victoria said. By, uh, Gibson McNeil? Yeah. Um. No, the handwriting was totally wrong. And anyway, I don’t think--” Lewis broke him off with another chopstick.

“Dude, you’re sputtering at a seven. I’m gonna need you to bring it down to a three.”

“ Fuck you .”

“So if it wasn’t Victoria…”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to read much farther than you have. I’ve gotta--

“--Well you’ve gotta start reading it. Go! Now! Chris Hardwick can wait until you’ve finished. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Liam got up to take care of his dishes. “I don’t understand why you’re so excited about this.”

“It might be magical. You found a mysterious book  of which nobody’s heard with a mysterious inscription on a park bench. That doesn’t just happen all the time. You’re an English major, this should totally be your thing. I’ll take care of your stuff, go read your book!”

  
  


Liam had put the Common Knowledge CD in his computer’s tray, and turned it on. The album was called  Range of Turgidity.  This made him smirk. It would seem Common Knowledge had a sense of humor. Upon listening all the way through, Liam decided it was aptly named. It displayed a spectrum of hard to soft from aggressive to decidedly mellow. 

Liam also discovered the reason Victoria had taken so long returning earlier. He found a hastily scribbled, yet surprisingly neat note when he had opened the CD case. It read thusly: “ Hey, Liam, before the show Saturday do you want to go grab dinner or something? Just us before we meet the others.  Let me know, thanks. ” And then immediately following was a smiley face. He was surprised and duly excited, but Liam knew he couldn’t come out before starting to read without incurring Lewis’ wrath. 

Liam sat down on his bed. He opened to the first page and started reading. 


	2. Chapter Two

“How do I look?”

“Exactly the same as you usually do.”

“Alright, that’s okay, that works, that’s fine.” 

The rest of the week progressed without incident and now it was Saturday and Liam was getting ready for his date with Victoria. Lewis was incredulous when Liam told him. “She’s way too hot for you,” he’d said. This might have had a grain of truth. Victoria was quite attractive and Liam was, to his eyes, incredibly average.

Liam had talked to Victoria the next day to confirm their plans. They would meet at a fancy-casual Italian restaurant called Peretti’s at five on Saturday before meeting Sven, Christina, Eric, and Lewis at Wheaton’s Café in Hardwick Park; and then go to the show.

Liam’s phone rang on his charger in his room. It was Victoria. He answered. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Um, I’m really, really sorry, but I can’t make it tonight. I have to go out of town for a family thing that came up.”

“No, it’s fine, I understand.”

“Are you sure? I’m really sorry.”

“Totally. I promise.”

“Okay, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Alright, bye, you’re the greatest.”  That doesn’t even make sense there!

“You’re alright, I guess.” Victoria laughed. “Okay, bye!”

Liam hung up and put his phone back on the charger, then went back to the living room and sit down in his spot. Lewis was slightly confused by this change. Liam had been anxious and sweaty in his typical manner, but was now as sullen as one of the Gallagher brothers from Oasis. He waited a few beats with no explanation before inquiring. “What happened?”

“No, nothing, Victoria can’t make it is all.” 

“Oh. Are you okay?” Lewis appeared concerned.

“No, no, it’s fine. She had a thing that came up.”

“Well, now I feel bad saying this, but if I’m lucky, tonight I’ll have a thing that comes up.”

“Crude. Poor form. I give it a three.”

“Jane was going to come along tonight, but she doesn’t have to if you’re not feeling okay.” Jane was a client at Parker & Maguire’s a couple of weeks ago. She and Lewis had charmed each other and gone for coffee when he got done with work. They had seen each other a couple times since. 

“No, I’m fine. It’s no big deal. Jane seems cool.”

There was a lull again, which Lewis broke. “Hey, don’t you have reservations at Peretti’s in like, twenty minutes?”

Liam blinked at the television. There was a syndicated episode of Parks and Recreation that they had been watching which was currently on commercial break. 

“All I’m saying is that it’d be a shame for the reservation to go to waste.”

“Alright.”

“Okay, we’re leaving. I’ll pay for our meals, you can cover the tip.”

 

“I just thought this was my chance, you know.” Liam and Lewis were sitting in a booth at Peretti’s. They had taken Lewis’ car to the restaurant. They could walk from the restaurant to the café where they would meet the others, then after the show, they could walk back to the car. Liam ordered the chicken parmesan with fresh handmade lemonade, and Lewis ordered manicotti and a cola.

Lewis looked up from the dessert menu at which he was looking. “Apparently it wasn’t.”

“Thanks, man.”

“What I mean is that in all likelihood, there is another chance out there. Or another girl out there. Either way.”

Liam shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

The waitress brought their food, Liam asked for another lemonade, and they started eating. He pointed at Lewis’ pasta and said “You know, it’s a tremendous missed opportunity that they’re called manicotti and not marinara cannolis.” 

When the waitress came back with Liam’s drink, Lewis stopped her, gestured across the table and said “My friend here thinks you should change the name of the manicotti to ‘marinara cannolis.’”

The waitress, who had introduced herself earlier as being named Matilda, chuckled and looked at Liam, who was looking intensely at Lewis. “I’ll pass on your thoughts, but I don’t think it’ll catch on. Manicotti’s kind of already a thing.”

Liam composed himself and told her sheepishly that the lemonade was very good, thank-you. Matilda walked away again. Lewis smirked at Liam as he took a bite of his meal. “What the hell was that, man?”

“She’s kinda cute. Matilda’s kind of an old name, but I’m sure you could get past it. I was giving you an in, showing her how clever you are, and you ruined it. ‘The lemonade was very good, thank-you,’” Lewis mocked Liam. “Come on, man! Get it together!”

“ That’s what that was? I thought you were setting me up to make fun of me.” He sprinkled grated parmesan on his chicken.

“That’s kind of a relief. I knew you weren’t good at flirting, but I didn’t think you were that bad.”

“Whatever. Just warn me the next time you try to do something like that, okay?” He took a sip of his drink then said, “To be fair to me, though, this is some pretty kick-ass lemonade.” They finished their meal, then Lewis paid and Liam covered tip, and they left to walk to Wheaton’s to meet Sven, Eric, Christina, and Jane. 

  
  


“If there are two things I know

It’s that I have nothing to say

But I can say it beautifully”

Common Knowledge started their set in front of a fair amount of people in Hardwick Park. No one charged admission, but there was quite the merch table set up near the stage. There were t-shirts, and posters, and no fewer than three self-published albums; as well as some bottled water, coffee, pizza, and muffins courtesy of Wheaton’s. Wheaton’s Café sponsored a lot of shows in the park. The artist kept the profits from the merch they sold; the café and the artist split profits from the refreshments, and they received a considerable boost in foot traffic because of the events. 

Liam went to the merch table to buy a water, a t-shirt, and one of their albums. This one was called  Beard of Pubes . Just like the guitarist on stage, the title struck a chord; reminding him of his facial hair in his sophomore year of college. No matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn’t grow in. It was all messy and patchy and, somehow, curly. 

It was at this point that he realized he had left his messenger bag in Lewis’ car, and had nowhere to store his newly acquired things. They did, however, fit in the deep pockets of his black cargo shorts, and for that, he was thankful.

He walked back to where the group of them had been standing, but Christina was the only one there. “Sorry, it’s just me.”

“No, it’s fine, where did everyone go?”

“Sven and Eric had an urgent call from the babysitter. Little Sofia is sick.” Sven and Eric were the first couple Liam’s own age that he knew to have a child. They got married right out of college, maintain an incredibly stable relationship, and adopted a six-month old baby when they were twenty-five. Sofia’s third birthday was about a month away.

“Oh, that’s a bummer. Where did Lewis go?” Liam hoped he hadn’t taken the car.

Christina and Liam both applauded as the band finished a song. “He and Jane went somewhere quiet to talk and have a coffee.” 

“Did he say anything about taking the car?” Liam needed to get something from it. “I needed to get something from it.”

“No, he asked me to have you send him a message. How you were going to get home and stuff.”

“Okay. It’s a good thing I always carry an extra key.” Liam got out his phone and wrote to Lewis:  When the show’s over, I’m gonna go get my bag from the car and walk home. A few moments later, the phone buzzed:  Alright, it’ll still be there, I’m not sure when I’ll be home. We’re having a great time. See you.

Christina had been growing restless. “I wanted to see the whole show, but I didn’t know they’d be playing this long. I can’t believe they’re not tired yet.”

“Yeah, they’ve been playing for more than two hours. Victoria missed a spectacular show.” Liam took a drink from the water he’d gotten.

“Speaking of which, Eric and I were wondering earlier why you haven’t asked her out yet?”

Liam’s eyes widened and he choked on his drink. When he recovered, he meekly said “What?”

“I said ‘Why haven’t you asked Victoria out on a date or three yet?’”

“I don’t know. I just thought, you know. I don’t know. Should I have?” He was starting to get sweaty. 

“I mean,  I think so.” She went to take a sip from her wine glass but it was empty. She pulled a bottle from her purse, pulled off the stopper, replenished her glass, put the stopper back on, and put the bottle back in her purse. It was a red wine from a local producer called Vineyard van Gogh. Christina did that whenever they went out to do something like this. She’d carry her own wine goblet and bring a bottle of red from a local vineyard. “I mean, you like her, right? And don’t you think she likes you?”

“I guess, maybe.” Liam wiped sweat from his right eyebrow. “We were going to go to dinner before the show tonight, but something came up. I don’t know if it was supposed to be a date or anything, but.”

“Well  that’s news!” Christina smirked and took a sip. “And she asked you?”

“Yeah, when she told me about the show tonight.” The song was over and the people left in the crowd applauded. The concert-goers had diminished due to the extended set and late-growing hour. 

“I’d like to do a song of great social and political import!” The drummer shouted from the back part of the stage. Liam couldn’t see her very well from where they were standing.

“That’s too bad, Laura, ‘cause we’re not going to be doing that,” the keyboardist said flatly with a vague Scottish accent. He was a tall gangly guy with fair hair.

“But you may be familiar with the song we’re going to play now.” Now it was the bass player. A beautiful red haired girl with a charming smile and eyes that were so deep and blue that Liam could notice them from that far away. 

“It’s a song originally by the Kinks,” started the short fellow who played an assortment of wind instruments…

“That was later covered by the Fall,” continued the guitarist. He was average and forgettable. Liam figured he was probably resentful toward the singer, even if they were great friends. He had no way of knowing, of course, but it was a solid guess.

The singer was a tremendously handsome man. He had dark brown hair style up in a quiff style in the front. He wore a mildly tight t-shirt that went well with his cargo shorts and tone torso. Liam later found out that the singer went by Will. Incidentally, this was the night Liam realized he was slightly bisexual. 

“ . . . Victoria.” Will on the stage finished their speech, and the band began to play.

“No shit.” Christina lightly punched Liam on the shoulder. “That’s a sign from the universe, dude!” 

Liam stood transfixed; watching and listening as Will on the stage began singing. Christina was saying something, but he didn’t notice as Will sang “And Victoria was my queen.” 


	3. Chapter Three

“ Victoria. . .”

Will on the stage finished singing, and the six members of Common Knowledge thanked everyone for coming, and for buying merch, and politely asked everyone to buy a t-shirt or a CD if they haven’t already, and thanked Wheaton’s Café for supporting them and can we have a round of applause for Wheatons please? They exited the stage with their instruments and the stage lights went off. 

Liam finished his water and put it in the nearest recycling bin, and Christina finished her glass of wine and was disappointed when she grabbed the wine bottle from her purse and it was empty. “Liam, we have to go get some more!”

“I think we should get home, it’s getting kinda late, I think.” Liam looked at the time on his phone. It was quarter to eleven. “Whoa, they played for like three hours.” 

“Okay, that’s fine. Now, I’m totally not that intoxicated, but you should probably drive because I did just drink a bottle of wine over three hours so…” Christina started rifling through her purse for her keys.

“Where’s your car parked?” Liam hated driving. “I’ve gotta go get my bag and stuff from Lewis’ car first. We’re parked at Peretti’s.”

“I’m parked by Wheaton’s.” Liam and Christina started the walk to Peretti’s parking lot.

“So, like, you think Victoria likes me? I should do something about it?” Liam had spent a countless amount of time considering the idea, but was incredulous at the thought that she might entertain a genuine fancy for him as well. 

Christina looked at him intently. “Yes! Of course!” She backtracked. “I mean, of course I’m not a hundred percent on the whole thing. It’s not like she’s ever said ‘Yo, Christina, I like Liam and I want to be with him.’ But like, I think it’s a pretty solid assessment of the situation.”

“Whoa.”

“Okay, Keanu. I just think you’d be cute and stuff together. You’re into her. I’d put money on her being into you. Figure, what’s the harm in trying.” 

“Yeah, you’re right, what’s the harm in trying.”  I could die,  Liam thought to himself, but he figured saying that would ruin the aura of optimism they’d just created.

“Plus that song, man, that means something I think. Common Knowledge knows what’s up.” What’s up was that before the show, Lewis had paid the band ten dollars each to close their set with a cover of “Victoria” by the Kinks. He explained it to them, and they liked his cause and agreed to it. Liam and Christina wouldn’t find out that revelation until later, though.

They got to Lewis’ car and Liam unlocked it and grabbed his messenger bag and they started walking back to Wheaton’s. “Gah, that feels so much more comfortable.”

“Really? Your bag is more comfortable?”

“Yeah, I wear it out so much, I feel nude without it. It’s no different than wearing a shirt or whatever.” Liam almost said it was no different than wearing pants, but he hated pants and did his best to wear cargo shorts instead whenever possible. 

Christina laughed at him. “You’re so weird.” Liam smiled.

“This coming from the girl who carries her personal wine goblet everywhere?”

Christina smirked. “Touché.”

Liam and Christina arrived back at the café. He asked absentmindedly when they got to the parking lot, “Where’s your car?”

Christina was startled and confused by his question due to there being only one car in the lot. She managed to get an “Erm” out through her confusion.

She gestured to the lone vehicle as Liam suddenly realised the foolishness of his inquiry. He chuckled at himself and asked for the keys. Christina smiled and said “Keys? Where we’re going, we don’t need keys.” She pulled out her phone to unlock and start her car. Then she made the horn sound off and it played a “ba dum tss” rimshot to emphasize her joke. Christina had done some freelance design work for an executive at Tesla Motors, and she gave her a great deal on a black 2013 Tesla Model S. 

Liam hated driving. He always had. He couldn’t say why, it was just an activity that, for the life of him, he could not enjoy. He hated it even more driving an unfamiliar car. But this one was fucking cool. It was so quiet, and the interior felt like the future. They got in, and he took his bag off and set it on the back seat. He tried the horn himself, and it played the first phrase of the Doctor Who theme. “Oh, man, this is sweet.”

“It better be,” Christina put on her seat belt, “I went down on the entire board of directors for it.” They pulled out of the café’s parking lot, and started driving to her apartment building. It was just under a ten minute drive before they got there. “Do you want to come in? It’s not even eleven thirty.”

 

Christina’s apartment is the top floor of a four story building on the edge of town. The back side of the building faced the state forest land that surrounded Parkvale on most sides. She had a great view of the forest; from the window that took up most of the back wall, one could just see across the tops of the trees. Behind the building was a very nice garden with fruit trees, an herb and vegetable patch, some ferns, tiger lillies, blood spotted and blue colored orchids, white hydrangeas, purple lupines and climbing ivies. There were twelve majestic cherry blossoms in full bloom around the borders of the garden. A stepstone path weaved among the vegetation. 

Christina unlocked and opened the door, and put her keys in the bowl next to the doorway. She had done some freelance work for an interior design firm. She built a website for Koenig and Coulson’s design, and in return they partially furnished her apartment. The main room was a deep lavender color with an aggressive mint lining, accented by dark green carpeting. The ultramodern silver, white, and black kitchen was on one side, offering a sharp contrast to the rest of the main section. The foyer transitioned smoothly into the living room, keeping the same color scheme and descending three steps. There was a couch, a recliner, and a loveseat, all black, and a low coffee table with a metal frame and glass top. The living room was focused toward a seventy inch television, which Christina had gotten in return for building a website for a local electronics store. They took their shoes off at the door and walked in.

Christina went to the kitchen, socks sliding a little on the white linoleum floor, and offered Liam a drink. He told her that a water was just fine, thanks, and inspected her walls. When she came back in and offered a glass, he said, “This one’s new. I like it.”

Liam was referring to a painting on the wall near the door. The perspective looked down a deep blue river at twilight, stars twinkling through the overhanging cherry blossoms. Both sides of the river were lined with cherry trees in full bloom. The bottom edges of the river were flanked with vivid green grasses, contrasting the colors of the water and trees. “Thanks, I did some freelance work for a Japanese artist. He’d just finished this and set it to me as payment.” They were about to sit down when Christina said, “Hey, the night’s really clear, do you want to to go up to the roof?” Liam agreed, set his glass on the table, his messenger bag on the couch, and they went upstairs.

The roof was really nice, too. The building’s main staircase led up to a hatch that they climbed through. There was a four foot wall around the edges of the building. Christina had done some freelance work for a florist, so the roof was well furnished, too. There were potted gerbera daisies and ferns, some basil and oregano, a ficus, potted bamboo plants, and a couple of small topiary bushes. Amongst the herbs and ferns and flowers, there were a couple of potted cannabis plants, but those were hush-hush. They belonged to a guy on the third floor, and in exchange for keeping quiet about it and letting it grow near her plants, she got to take from it if ever she wanted. Near the middle, there was a white lattice archway, with climbing ivy and crystal Christmas lights entwined in the latticework. Facing the forest was a line of seven differently colored Adirondack chairs arranged like the rainbow. The moon was big and bright over the forest, and they could see out for miles. 

Liam and Christina sat down next to each other under the arch. Her blonde hair shone against the pale silver moonlight, and she brushed the sakura-pink streak of hair away from her intense blue eyes. He looked deep into her eyes and she playfully mussed up his puffy, thick, dark hair. She chuckled, then sighed. She stood up, leveraging herself on Liam’s shoulder and walked toward the hatch. “I’m gonna level with you, Liam, it’s been a while for me.” She pulled a CD player from the staircase and pressed play.

“Chorale and Shaker Dance.” Liam recognised it right away. “Best concert band piece ever, right?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing. Did you hear what I said?”

What she meant hadn’t hit him right away. “Oh! You mean…”

She sat down beside him again and rested her hand on his calf. “Yeah. I mean.” Liam tapped the rhythm along with the music, unsure of what he was supposed to do. She prompted him. “Yeah? No? What do you think?”

He stopped tapping now. “Um... Sure, yeah, okay.” Liam chuckled nervously. Christina smiled.

She leaned forward and her mouth touched his, just quick enough to feel how soft her lips were, before she pulled away. She held on to Liam’s face with one hand as she kissed him again, deeper this time. Christina opened his mouth with her own tongue and he allowed her in. Somehow she tasted like mint, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how, after a whole bottle of red wine. She sighed into his mouth and pulled back just far enough to tell him to take off her shirt.

Liam reached down to Christina’s waist and grabbed the hem of her black t-shirt. He lifted the fabric up, and almost got it above her shoulders, just high enough to expose her pale pink bra, when his right hand slipped, somehow, and hit Christina on her face beneath the fabric. “Ah! Dude!”

“I’m sorry. Oh, man, I’m sorry. Oh gosh, I’m so  so sorry!” He was getting all anxiety-sweaty, and he pulled away, terrified.

Christina smoothed her shirt back to normal and rubbed the spot where he hit her. It wasn’t going to bruise, so that was good. “It’s okay, calm down, man.”

He was sputtering now. “Are you sure it’s okay Christina? I didn’t hit you hard did I? I’m sorry. I’m  so sorry.”

Christina laughed a little. “I’m fine, I promise. You’re nowhere near strong enough to hurt me. It’s fine, it was dumb anyway.”

He was starting to chill down a little bit. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t remember? You belong with Victoria!  I don’t want to get in the way of  that . That’s truly important. And besides, it just hit me, I’m like, really tired now.” Liam shifted. “ Not that I’m kicking you out by any means, you know that.” 

“Um, no, it’s fine, I’ve gotta walk home, too, so I should be going anyway.” They went back downstairs. Christina curled up on the couch, a syndicated episode of Family Guy on the huge television, and was almost asleep when Liam left. 

As he was walking out the door, she raised her voice and told him, “Make sure you don’t forget what I said about Victoria. I’m holding you to it.” She smiled at him, and he gave her the double thumbs up, and he left with his bag on his shoulder.

 

“‘Ey, Liam! You’re out late!” Rick looked up from a copy of this week’s Parkvale Press. Rick Lenhart was the night manager at Wheaton’s Café. He was a very tall man with broad shoulders, a Conan O’Brien haircut, and a red beard. He had a booming voice and a commanding presence.

“Hey, Rick, how are things?” Liam had sat down in a chair at the bar.

“Things are great! Did you see the show tonight?” 

“Yeah, it was really, really good. I had a great time.”

“They’re really good. I had one of the kids look after the shop while I slipped out to watch a couple songs.” His eyes suddenly went wide with realization. “Do you want anything?”

“Uh, yeah, iced and spiced.” Liam’s drink was an iced coffee, brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and dark cocoa. 

Rick poured a mug full of coffee and ice, and grabbed a basketball full of onion rings and set them in front of Liam. “I just made a fryer full of ‘em, these are yours. It’s free tonight as a thanks for that.” He gestured to the paper on the counter. Liam had always plugged Wheaton’s’ concerts and sundry in the Press, and had written a big piece for this weeks edition. “I finally convinced the bosses to pay you back for your kind coverage. He pulled a credit-card sized piece of plastic from his apron pocket and tossed it onto the counter next to the basket of onion rings.

Liam looked at the card. “Free coffee for life?”

“I know it’s not much, but it was the most I could get them to agree to. Just keep doing what you’re doing, no obligations.”

“Thanks, Rick this is really cool, I appreciate it a lot.” He took a bite of an onion ring. “Oh, dude, these are really good.”

“Great! I tried a new seasoning technique in the breading. Good enough to sell?”

“Totally.” Liam took another ring. “Did you hear the last song they played?”

Rick turned his head in inquiry. “No, why?”

“They played a cover of “Victoria” by the Kinks. Christina called it a sign from the universe. Which is silly, of course, but it’s still funny.” He took a sip from his drink.

“You’re finally going to do something about that?” 

“I think I might, Rick. I’ll ask Victoria out this week.”

In a booth across the room, a girl with thick red hair beneath a black knit style beret lifted her deep blue eyes from the copy of PLACE Magazine she was reading. “No way,” she said quietly. She got up and went over toward where Liam and Rick were talking. 


	4. Chapter Four

“Liam, right?” The girl sat down at the counter next to Liam.

She seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it right off. “Yeah, uh, that’s… me.”

She pressed further. “And you know a guy named Lewis, right?”

Liam was puzzled. “Yeah, how did you--” She cut him off.

“You’re the guy!”

Liam was still puzzled, and Rick looked at him with quizzical eyes. Liam was able to manage “What guy?”

“Funny story, dude.” She stopped abruptly. “I should explain. I’m Mary. Bass player. For Common Knowledge. The band. From the show. Tonight. In the park.” That was when Liam realized why he recognized her. She was the bass player. For Common Knowledge. The band. From the show. Tonight. In the park. 

Mary continued. “Before the show, your friend Lewis came to us and asked us to play your song. Paid us ten dollars each, so we couldn’t turn him down.” She lifted her iced and spiced toward Rick and smiled. “He paid for my coffee tonight.” 

“Why would he drop sixty dollars on that? That’s groceries this week.” Liam was getting sweaty.

“Yeah, and we probably would have it done it for free, too.” Mary shrugged.

Rick laughed heartily. “Well, there’s your sign from the universe.” 

She set her coffee down on the counter. “You’re gonna do it, though, right?” Her voice rose in pitch in suggestion. “I mean your friend dropped sixty dollars, he must think it’s a great idea.”

Rick nudged him from across the counter and Liam said, “Yeah, I, uh, I think I’m gonna ask her out this week.”

Mary said that was great news and Rick said that he was proud of Liam, then excused himself to do paperwork and to call for him if they needed him. 

“Hey, this is a long shot, but I heard you talking about the Press. Are you Liam Munroe?” 

A fan? Liam had never met one of those before, at least not one he hadn’t known beforehand. “Yeah. I write for the Press. And a little bit for PLACE Magazine, which is cooler, but mostly behind the scenes stuff there.”

“I know you!” Mary got kind of excited. “You’re really funny in the Press. And you wrote that review that’s in the PLACE I was just reading. About the new Marvel film. It was really good!”

“I can’t believe you know who I am. No one’s ever recognized me before.” Liam got kind of really excited. “I  really appreciate that.”

“ I really appreciate that you liked the show.” Her voice started to rise in suggestion again. “So, mister writer guy, are you going to…”

“I’ll write about your show for the Press. And I’ll try to sneak a review of one of your albums on the PLACE website. I haven’t stopped listening to  Range of Turgidity all week--”

Mary wrapped her arms around Liam and squeezed, and he was startled, until he realized it was just a hug. She pulled back and smiled at him. “Thanks a whole bunch, that’d be great!”

“Sure, yeah, absolutely.” Liam wasn’t sure whether this was a cool thing to do. It might have been a conflict of interest or something, but he wasn’t sure. “Can I have a copy of your new album when it comes out?” 

Mary was excited again. Liam noticed she hadn’t not been excited since she had come over. “Oh my gosh, that works out great!”

“Does it?” Mary’s excitability was starting to make him nervous. 

“Yeah! We just released our new album. It’s called  The Wurst . Wurst with a ‘u’ like the sausage. The cover is a picture of sausage.” Liam laughed. He didn’t to seem too eager, but that was his favorite joke in the whole world. He’d say something was ‘the wurst’ then bring up a picture of German sausages. He thought it was quite clever. “I have some copies in my apartment. If you wanna stop by, I’ll get you one right now.” 

Liam would feel terrible declining. “Alright, sure.” 

“Okay, let’s go!” Mary went over to her booth and grabbed her things.

“Hey Rick, we’re going to--” Rick cut Liam off. 

“I know.” Rick was sitting at the computer. “You both talk really loud.” 

“We’ll walk, my apartment’s not too far away,” Mary said as they walked out of the diner together.


	5. Chapter Five

Victoria set the bag down and knocked on the door. She waited a moment and knocked again. There was no answer. She wondered if there was a spare key somewhere. She felt along the top rim of the door frame, but couldn’t find anything. She stepped back and lifted the welcome mat, revealing a key.  How original. She picked the key up, put it in the lock, and turned. She sighed audibly when she realized the door was already unlocked.  It’s like they’re asking someone to break in. She replaced the key, picked up the food bag, and walked in.

Liam’s apartment was dark, they must be out still. She turned on the light and closed the door behind her with her foot. Victoria slipped off her shoes by the welcome mat and walked through the living room to the kitchen. She set the bag of food from Costello’s down on the counter. It was all hors d'oeuvres, no entrée. There was an antipasto, breaded cauliflower, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, and breaded mushrooms, with all the assorted dressings and sauces that come with that. 

She slid with her socks along the kitchen floor and went back to the living room. She put her purse on the coffee table, picked up the remote to turn on the television, and sat down on the couch. There was a syndicated episode of Family Guy on, and she left it. It was almost twelve o’clock.  It’s weird that he’s not home yet . She grabbed her phone from the front right pocket of her black khaki capris. There was nothing. She’d wanted to surprise him, but it’d been a long day and it was getting late. She set her phone on the table. 

There was a commercial now, and Victoria got up to find something to do. She could get her sketchbook from her car, but it’s too late to concentrate on drawing now. She found herself in Liam’s bedroom. The bed, aligned to the wall on the left and back sides, was made delicately. Victoria’s bed was never made.  I didn’t realize that was something people actually did.  There was a bookshelf next to the bed. Along the right wall, there was a dark stained wood dresser that was long and low with a flat tabletop. There was a lamp on the dresser close to the bookshelf, and also a tall, wide mirror made from the same wood as the dresser that was center aligned. On the wall above the lamp was a poster of Brick Tamland from  Anchorman that said “I love lamp” that always made Victoria smile.

Liam’s dresser was covered with an organized mess of papers, magazines, toiletries, and office supplies, but prominent over all of that was a book. The cover was dark with stars, silhouettes, and a charmingly pretentious helvetica.  157Blank . Lyanna Morrison was author, it looked like. She’d heard the name before, but couldn’t remember where. Victoria picked up the book and looked at the back cover, but it was just more stars and silhouettes. She flipped to page 157 of the book, and it was blank, as the title promised. She opened the book again, from the front this time. It looked like it was in great shape, with perfectly white pages and everything, yet it still had the pleasant smell of an old book. The publication date was from last year. The dedication page read “ to you, ” which continued the charmingly pretentious aura of the paperback. There was an inscription on the dedication page too:

 

Hello.

You look like you could use a good read. I want you to take this book home and read it. I hope you like it. And after you finish, I’d like you to leave this book on a park bench like the one you found it on. But first, sign your name below and leave a way to contact you. Have a lovely time.

Thanks

Alfred Gaiman

 

That’s odd. Alfred Gaiman was a character in another book. Maybe he was a real person in Parkvale. Victoria thought it was far more likely, though, that some kind stranger used the name of the character as a pseudonym of sorts. There were a couple of title pages that mimicked the art of the covers, then the first page of the narrative commenced. She closed the book and took it with her back to the living room. 

There was a late night infomercial on the television now, so she turned it off. She grabbed her phone and set in the speakers dock on the entertainment center. She’d been listening to the new Common Knowledge album in the car, and it was amazing, and she played it again. It was called  The Wurst , and that made her think of Liam. That was a joke he made a lot. It was after twelve, now. She went back to the kitchen and took the antipasto and cold sauces out of the Costello’s bag and put them on the middle shelf in the fridge. Then she took out the other things and put them into the microwave to insulate the heat.

She went back to the living room and grabbed the book, opened to the first page again. Victoria sat down on the couch again and started reading. 

 

Victoria grabbed her phone from the table and placed it in her place in the book, then let it close and set it on the table. She stood up and stretched extensively. It was close to one now, it felt like just a couple of minutes.  Gods , the writing was beautiful. Victoria couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard about this book before, it was almost magical. 

She yawned when she stretched. She wasn’t really tired, though. She’d gotten a solid four hours of sleep last night, which was plenty. She could go for over two days on six hours’ sleep. She’d heard a story one time about how Napoleon Bonaparte could function for long swaths of time with little to no sleep without any adverse effects. Victoria knew this story was probably bogus, but she insisted on calling her ability go on almost no sleep her “ NAP oleon Complex.”

She walked across to the kitchen, a vague dance in her step with the music. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard, and filled a glass with tap-water. Parkvale had great tap-water. She checked on the the appetizers in the microwave. They’d cooled off, so she took them out and put them in the fridge--they could be reheated. Then she grabbed a mug from the cupboard. It had a “Hello, my name is” name tag that said in the name section “Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” She set it under the spout of the single serve coffee machine, then got a package of Earl Grey tea, and started brewing. 

She poked around absentmindedly for a few minutes. It’d been kind of a long day. She didn’t get the call from the gallery owner until twelve today to set up a meeting for five o’clock. There was almost not enough time to get all her stuff ready for the interview. But she made it, with a couple of her arts, and the meeting went well. The meeting went really well. She’s having an exhibition for her art next month, and that kicks  so much ass . She hadn’t told anyone about the meeting before, because she didn’t want to jinx it, but Victoria was super excited now.

Her tea was done brewing, and she grabbed the mug by the handle, and went back to the living room. She took a sip, but it was  really hot. She set the mug on the coffee table and grabbed the book, putting her thumb in her spot, letting her phone slide out and onto the table. After a reading a moment, she grabbed her mug and took a sip. Liam and Lewis always has had really good tea, which was weird because neither of them drank tea. 

Just then something hit the window, and made a loud noise. Victoria was duly startled and jumped. Her tea sloshed out of the mug, and splashed across her.  Shitshitshit! She stood up quick, setting the book and mug on the table. She didn’t get any on Liam’s couch, and the book was clear, but the whole front of her shirt was soaked. She took her shirt off, and the wet fabric ruffled her dark chestnut hair. 

She ran to the kitchen, then hung the shirt off the back of a dining chair set at the table. Hopefully it would dry. Victoria took a couple paper towels, wet them in the sink, and wiped her stomach and hands. She threw that away, then grabbed some more and started to run back to the living when her socks slid, and suddenly she was on her back in pain, legs having slid out from under her.  It’s way too late for this trash. She got up slowly, grunting in agony as she did so. She went to the living room, walking slowly and carefully across the tiled floor in the kitchen. She wiped the tea off the outside and bottom of the mug, then the table where the mug was sitting, and threw away the paper towels away in the kitchen. Then a sip of the tea slightly soothed her frazzled nerves. 

Victoria might have a spare shirt in her car, but she didn’t want to put her wet one back on to find out. She really hoped it wouldn’t stain. This was one of her nicest shirts, which was why she wore it to her meeting today. It was dark enough, so it might not stain anyway. She  really hoped it wouldn’t stain. She sat down on the couch to compose herself with the book after a couple sips of tea. 

Ohgodsno. She heard the door start to open.  This is gonna be hella embarrassing. Here she was in Lewis and Liam’s apartment after midnight; with their knowledge or consent; wearing just her bra on top. On the plus side, at least it was her classiest bra, black with a little lacing on the edges, and it went with her black pants. She stood up and grabbed her mug, moving out from behind the couch, trying desperately to look like she belonged.

“The lights are on, Liam must be home.” Victoria was acutely aware of the fact that that was not Liam’s voice, and that there was a girl giggling too, and it seemed very much like Liam would not be arriving now. Lewis and a girl she didn’t know were standing in the doorway. The girl’s eyes went wide, and he was visibly confused. “Um… Hey, Victoria.”

She tried so hard to be casual. “Hey, Lewis.” She extended her hand out toward the girl. “Hi, I’m Victoria. I’m a friend of Lewis and Liam’s.”

The other girl shook her hand. “Hey, Victoria, I’m Jane. Lewis and I have been seeing each other for a couple weeks.”

“That’s a bummer for you, he’s kind of a jerk.” Then Victoria made eye contact with Lewis, and she smiled. “I joke of course, he’s fine.”

Jane laughed. “He seems alright so far.” She broached the subject carefully, as if she was unsure of whether to bring it up. “I like your bra.”

Lewis nudged his way into the flow of conversation here. “Is Liam home?”

Blurgh. “No, I, uh--” Lewis cut her off.

“Ah, surprising him are you?” His question had a nudge and wink included in his tone.

“No, not that. I mean yes, but not.” She paused for a moment, and was well composed like a Mozart sonata. “I felt bad about missing our date earlier, so I brought some food from Costello’s, and I thought we could hang out after you got home from the show. The door wasn’t locked, so I let myself in, I hope that’s cool.”

Lewis nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine, but I still don’t understand why--”

“Why I’m not wearing a shirt, right.” She gestured with her mug. “I spilled hot tea on myself, and my shirt’s all wet. I’m waiting for it to dry a bit.” She thought it would be better not to mention that it was a bird hitting the window that made her spill her tea.

Lewis seemed satisfied with this explanation. “Okay, well, um, I don’t know where Liam is, but we just stopped by to grab a couple of things, I’m spending the night at Jane’s.” Victoria noticed Jane get a little tense at that as Lewis went to his bedroom. There was rustling and then he called out, “So you’re sure you’re not here to seduce Liam?”

She smiled politely at Jane. “No, not exactly.”

Lewis came out of his room with a backpack on his shoulders. “Alright, Victoria, we’ll be leaving. I haven’t heard from Liam for a while, but I imagine he’ll show up before too long.” He opened the door for Jane, and she nodded politely to Victoria.

“It was nice to meet you, Jane!”

“Thanks, Victoria, you too.” They walked out the door, and Lewis closed it behind him. Victoria thought Jane seemed like a fine person, pretty too. Good for Lewis.

She checked her shirt in the kitchen, and it was still wet. She took a sip of tea, then the door opened again. This time it must be Liam, she figured. “Hey, um, Victoria?” It was Jane’s voice, she was pretty.

She set her mug on the coffee table, and went over to her. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I realized I have a spare shirt in Lewis’ room, if you wanted to borrow it.”

“Oh my gosh, Jane, that would be great.” Victoria followed Jane into Lewis’ bedroom and she pulled a shirt out of a drawer in Lewis’ dresser. It was white and burgundy with ruffles.

Jane checked Victoria out, eyes starting from her feet, all the way up to her neck. She smiled. “You’re a beautiful person, I love your hair.” Victoria could feel herself start to blush. “We should be about the same size, I think. I don’t know if this is your style, but it should fit.”

“Thank-you so much.” Victoria slid the shirt on over head, and adjusted the short sleeves into place. She happened to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and allowed her gaze to linger. “I actually really like how it looks. I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.”

“It’s not a big deal, really, I’m just glad we found you something to wear. Liam and Lewis keep it so cold in here all the time.” Victoria noticed how Jane put Liam’s name before Lewis’, and she found that amusing. “Just a moment.”

Jane walked out of Lewis’ bedroom and into Liam’s. “Alright.” Then Victoria followed her.

“Lewis is a mess, but Liam seems really organized.” Victoria thought that seemed weird, but maybe it was meant to be endearing. Then Jane got a piece of paper and a pen and hastily scribbled a series of numbers. Then she slid them across the surface of the dresser toward Liam. “Get hold of me some time, maybe we can do lunch or something, sometime.” Jane’s smile was warm and her big, brown eyes were even warmer.

Victoria really liked the sound of that, and realized she was totally blushing at this point. She returned Jane’s smile. “I’d like that.”  Gods,  what was this girl doing to her? She didn’t know she was into that, but Jane was really charming. And pretty.

“Awesome.” Jane’s eyes went wide. “I’ve gotta go, Lewis is waiting for me in the car. It was  lovely to meet you.”

“You too!” Victoria was worried she sounded too excited. Jane left, and Victoria took a sip of her tea to settle herself down. She tried to read the book again, but her mind kept slipping to Jane.  Well that’s new.

Not too long after that, she heard something at the door again. It must be Liam this time. She checked the time and it was one-thirty. “Lewis?” Liam asked from the door. 

“Guess again.” Victoria stood up smiling and went over to him.

“Hey, Victoria, how are you, what are you doing here?”  Victoria thought that was a fair question.

“I felt terrible about missing our dinner, and I wanted to make it up. I brought food, it’s in the fridge, I’ll warm it up.” Victoria started to walk to the kitchen and Liam followed.

“Awesome.” Victoria was standing in front of the fridge when Liam walked up behind her and turned her around. He wrapped his arms around her and she returned the embrace. Her hair was in his nose and he smiled.

She smiled too. “I have so much to tell you, Liam.”

“Me too.”


End file.
